It was late evening by the time Lady Jaye woke up again. She felt much better for the sleep, and snuggled under the covers, able to relax for the first time in weeks. She couldn't quite get comfortable again, though, and sighed, sitting up to reach for the painkillers and glass of water on the nightstand.
She lay back, wondering what was going on elsewhere in the base. She finally got tired of waiting, and carefully climbed out of bed. She was able to hobble to the door and peek her head into the hallway. Lifeline wasn't in his office, so she leaned against the wall and made her way to the next room.
Duke had been encased in a plastic curtain, but it was pulled back now, and he lay propped against the pillows, remote control in hand, idly flipping through channels on the TV mounted across from the bed. He looked up as she came in, smiling broadly.
Limping to the chair at his bedside, she took a seat and looked him over. He was still covered in raised bumps, and although his eyes were dark and sunken, they were clear and alert. "You look like shit," she said with a chuckle.
He laughed. "Glad to see you back, but I think you can stop with the insults now," he replied. "So… aren't we a pair?" He looked at her blood-soaked bandage, bruises, and worn appearance. "You okay?"
She nodded. "More or less. Heard you had a rough couple of days. When did you wake up?"
"About an hour ago." His voice sounded scratchy. "Lifeline checked me over and went to get dinner. He said he'd tell everyone that I was up, but no one has stopped by. He must not want me to have visitors yet."
"I'll try not to wear you out," she laughed. It felt good to know that it was all over. "Duke… did Lifeline tell you what happened?"
"No. He said he didn't know. I was starting to go crazy thinking I would have to wait to hear…" His face turned serious. "Jaye. Tell me. Who…?"
She sighed. "Steeler." A sad look passed over his face as she recounted her discovery on the Cobra computer and what Steeler had said when he confronted her in the cell.
"What a waste," he whispered. They sat quietly for a moment, thinking about their former teammate and what he had done. They talked about the team and what it meant to each of them, and how the others were going to take the news. It was a depressing subject.
"I can understand his frustration," Lady Jaye told him. "But to go so far… why didn't he realize that what he was doing was so much worse than anything the men he hated could do?"
"Some people just can't deal with it all," he replied. "The pressure, the constant battles. Seeing friends fall, and the helpless feeling that goes with it. Steeler was on the team for so long… I guess he finally reached his breaking point."
Lady Jaye thought about how she had felt when they kept running into dead ends, when she saw how Flint reacted when she and Duke were fighting. She remembered the dream she had had just before Steeler came into her cell. "It is hard sometimes, isn't it?" she asked quietly.
"Yeah. Some days it's all I can do just to get out of bed in the morning. But the alternative… I just can't picture doing anything but this. Still, sometimes I wish I didn't have to make the decisions, that I could just leave it up to someone else…"
Lady Jaye tried to lighten the mood, aware that he was likely to turn introspective, blaming himself for something over which he had no control. "How long are you stuck in here?" she asked him.
He rolled his eyes. "At least a week," he replied. "How 'bout you?"
She smiled. "Lifeline can try to keep me here, but I plan on busting out at the earliest opportunity."
He shook his head. "If you get out, take me with you, please." He looked over as a thought occurred to him. "Do the others still think you're a traitor?"
Her mouth opened in surprise. "Oh. Yeah, I guess they do," she said. "I kinda forgot about that part." She looked at the floor. "I, uh, may have let it slip to Flint earlier that I was acting under orders, though…"
"I think I can overlook that point. I'll have to give him the official word, of course, and make sure that he tells the rest of the team." He plucked at the blanket over his lap. "And how did that conversation go, anyway?"
Lady Jaye leaned back in the chair and let her head hang over the back. She closed her eyes. "Well, he almost shot me when he found me on base. But when he read the disks I brought, he figured it out prettly quickly. I think he's still pretty mad, though."
Duke reached out toward her. "If he gives you a hard time over this, I will kick his ass for you," he told her. "You saved my life. We all owe you for what you've done."
She sat up and leaned over to touch his outstretched fingers, taking his hand in hers. "Thanks. I think I just need to give him some time. I hope…" Duke watched her eyes turn inward, and glanced over her shoulder as his eyes caught a flash of movement in the doorway. He smiled.
"I'm sure Flint will forgive you," Duke said. "You acted under orders. I know you would have told him if you could, but Hawk's order was for absolute silence on this. You had no choice."
Lady Jaye nodded. "Yeah. I know I had to do it, but it doesn't change the fact that I hurt him."
The pain in her voice was evident. "You care about him. He knows that. He also knows how important this mission was." He squeezed her hand to get her attention. She met his gaze, and he continued, "Just tell him how you feel. You want this to work, don't you?"
"Of course I do! If he walked out on me, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. He means so much to me." She closed her eyes. "I love him, Duke. What if he can't forgive me? What then?" she whispered.
A low voice spoke from the doorway. "I would never walk out on you, Alison."
She whipped her head around. Flint stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. She tried to stand, but he reached her before she could rise all the way from the chair. He wrapped his arms around her and supported her weight as she leaned against his shoulder.
"So you love me?" he whispered.
She felt her heart flutter. "Yes, Dash. I most certainly do." She felt a chuckle vibrate through his chest. "That's very good to hear," he said. His arms tightened around her, and she felt the last of the tension and worry drain away. Flint leaned down to kiss her gently. "I love you, Alison."
A silly grin came over her face. She reached up to kiss him back, and they stood that way for several moments, until Duke cleared his throat behind them. "By the way, Flint," he said as they stepped apart. "Lady Jaye isn't the traitor."
The Warrant Officer rolled his eyes in response. "Thanks for the update, oh All-Knowing CO."
Duke laughed. "Well, I did say I had to make it official." He turned his gaze to Lady Jaye. "I'll call Hawk first thing in the morning with an update. He'll be happy to tell the court martial committee they can stop the proceedings. Flint, please call a meeting ASAP and give everyone the whole story. I would do it, but…" he shrugged, gesturing at his surroundings with a wry grin.
Lady Jaye gave a dramatic sigh. "You were supposed to wait on me hand-and-foot when I got back to make up for all of those hours of punishment work. You're going to milk this just to get out of that, aren't you?"
A wicked smile crept over his face. "Well, since I'm in here, that duty falls to the next in command…" he raised his eyebrow at Flint. "I understand Lady Jaye isn't supposed to be out of bed. She'll probably need a lot of help the next few weeks, with both a bad arm and a bad leg. You're going to have to help her move around, get dressed, take a bath…" He chuckled. "Of course, if Lifeline lets me out of here soon enough, I guess I could manage. Or I could ask Beach Head—"
Flint carefully picked up Lady Jaye and headed toward the door. "I've got it covered, thanks," he said over his shoulder.
Lady Jaye laughed. "Wait. I need to ask…" she looked at Duke. "You knew Flint was standing in the doorway the whole time we were talking, didn't you?"
"Yep."
She gave him a smile. "Thanks," she called as Flint carried her from the room.